170
intense rivalry over Syria which took place in the Security Council, not to mention
in the form of mutual arming of forces in the civil war.
Shale Gas Revolution
Shale gas has been developed in recent years as an alternative to natural gas and
works by extracting the gas trapped in rock pores deep underground, joining coal
bed methane, and methane clathrate among others, in the unconventional natural
gas energy subgroup. Although first tested almost two centuries ago, the technology
has been developed and advanced in various countries, especially the USA, since
1980 (www.elektrikport.com 2015). Over the last decades, the share of shale gas in
US natural gas production increase from 1% in 2000 to 20% in 2010, and is expected
to reach 46% by 2035 (www.elektrikport.com 2015). The shale gas revolution has
had a positive effect on employment and has created hundreds of thousands of jobs
in the US energy sector such as new high-paying middle-class jobs. More than 1.5
million Americans now work in the energy industry (compared to 40% of this figure
from 2007 to 2012) (Hefner III 2014:1). Natural gas supplied about 29% of US total
energy consumption in 2016, with the boom saving US consumers hundreds of billions of dollars annually (Hefner III 2014:1).
5 US Energy Diplomacy Under the Obama Administration
intense rivalry over Syria which took place in the Security Council, not to mention
in the form of mutual arming of forces in the civil war.
Shale Gas Revolution
Shale gas has been developed in recent years as an alternative to natural gas and
works by extracting the gas trapped in rock pores deep underground, joining coal
bed methane, and methane clathrate among others, in the unconventional natural
gas energy subgroup. Although first tested almost two centuries ago, the technology
has been developed and advanced in various countries, especially the USA, since
1980 (www.elektrikport.com 2015). Over the last decades, the share of shale gas in
US natural gas production increase from 1% in 2000 to 20% in 2010, and is expected
to reach 46% by 2035 (www.elektrikport.com 2015). The shale gas revolution has
had a positive effect on employment and has created hundreds of thousands of jobs
in the US energy sector such as new high-paying middle-class jobs. More than 1.5
million Americans now work in the energy industry (compared to 40% of this figure
from 2007 to 2012) (Hefner III 2014:1). Natural gas supplied about 29% of US total
energy consumption in 2016, with the boom saving US consumers hundreds of billions of dollars annually (Hefner III 2014:1).
5 US Energy Diplomacy Under the Obama Administration